(Left to Right) Shealyn, Yoanna, Trinity, Kai What is the primary goal of reconstruction? Reunification, punishment, civil rights, other? (Thesis)
The United States, in a condition of uncertainty and conflict must be focused on unity and reunification, in addition to civil liberties, and the safety of its citizens. The Great Awakening Scheme
To unify the people of the United States of America and attempt to stem the atrocities of the KKK, Knights of the White Camelia, The White Brotherhood plus numerous other groups, in addition to large plantation owners re-enslaving African Americans, The Third Great Awakening will be utilized to bring back morality and compel people to re-evaluate their ethics. Preachers will return to the sacred teachings and state that the KKK have strayed from the original path and meaning. To advertise the Great Awakening and convince people of their duty, pamphlets (and other ways of communication/news) will be applied to demonstrate and exhibit the truth of the insurgent groups and the wealthy plantation owners. The flyer will depict the toils of the working families in the north and south, exemplifying the hardships experienced by the common man in the nation as a whole. Promoting the similarities north and south for the common man. While, portraying the rich plantation owners in the south and the increasing commercial power by few in the north as unacceptable; that will shift in focus and attention. To usurp and magnify awareness of the KKK and other rebel movements, the pamphlets are used to reveal the mass murder of United States Citizens -against the Constitution and intentions of our founding fathers- harm to women, children and the impoverished in the south. The powerful sentiment of these pamphlets in combination with urging vigorous, pious responsibility will be an effective method to propel the American people into action.
What should be done to the ex-Confederates?
The former confederate leaders should not be praised for their treasonous actions and misdeeds. The confederate commanders will have their voting right suspended for 5 years, such that they will not be able to vote in the coming election. The former confederate leaders (president, vice president and military commanders) will, from here forward, not authorized to run for office under the union. The soldiers that served in the southern army will be pardoned from charges and will regain their full rights and suffrage. Moreover, the citizen will equally be reprieved of charges of treason and reclaim full civil liberties. A veterans program will be initialed with the limited funds and will continue to progress as the economy improves.
What should be done for the freedmen? Women
In order to gain more support for the Freedmen’s Bureau, it is imperative to give women the right to vote in the 14th Amendment. We believe that adding female suffrage to the 14th Amendment would show the southern states that their women are still considered higher than the Freedmen. With female suffrage, women would feel empowered to get jobs and begin to pump money into the economy. Northern women can move down south to get jobs as teachers and nurses. Additionally, with women’s support, the Freedmen would have more of a backing. Many women believed that they had been betrayed by the Freedmen when they were denied the right to vote in the 15th Amendment. If they had been granted this right, they would have felt compelled to support the Freedmen’s cause. Essentially they would be allies in the fight for equality and eventually this minority could become a majority. Strength in numbers.
The Third Great Awakening and Propaganda
The Ku Klux Klan was a large group of white supremacists determined to harass the Freedmen and anyone that supported them. They did this believing that this was the morally correct thing to do and they believed they had God on their side. In order to crack down on the Ku Klux Klan, we propose to create a Third Great Awakening that reminds the country what religion is actually about. The First Great Awakening was made possible by powerful, influential orators such as George Whitefield. Whitefield traveled around to different colonies and preached to groups of people. This is a similar approach that we would take. Priests would travel around through the southern states and preach. The key for the Third Great Awakening would be molding their religious beliefs into ones that would support the Freedmen. They would condemn the KKK for their immoral acts that contradict those that Christianity asserts. Priests similar to Jonathan Edwards would condemn those who follow the KKK or act similar to them to hell and compare them to people dangling over the pits of hell. People would then see their violent acts as acts of terrorism and would not want to associate with them because of their fear of being sent to hell. Additionally, this may spark outrage with some pious Northerners who will now want to fight against the KKK because of their acts against God. Some additional ways to take down the KKK would be to send out propaganda in newspapers and to create pamphlets. These forms of propaganda would depict the KKK ravaging and murdering young, working women in the South. This would not be a lie since the northern women heading into the South were often harassed for supporting the Freedmen. The Additionally, the pamphlets and newspapers would emphasize how the KKK’s acts are unconstitutional and are against God’s wishes. This can start being taught in Northern schools as well and slowly trickle into the Southern education system. The way to combat the KKK is not to resort to violence but instead educate a population of ignorant, fearful people.
Freedmen’s Bureau and Other Accommodations
In order for the Freedmen to be able to survive, they must be provided with basic necessities such as clothes, food, education, jobs, and housing. In the wake of the destruction of the South, it will be difficult to provide these things but the United States has a duty to aide the Freedmen because they whole economy was built upon their backs. So, the Freedmen’s Bureau will be prolonged until the Freedmen are self sufficient.
With jobs, we would institute a national minimum wage for all workers of the United States including the Freedmen. The infamous Black Codes made the Freedmen become a subservient labor force under white control. These can be avoided by having the Freedmen’s Bureau also act as a sort of workers union. This worker’s union would enforce the minimum wages of the Freedmen and ensure that they have decent working conditions. If not, the Freedmen can report it to northern lawyers who will then go to court with the employer. They would be taken up north into northern courts where, if they won, half the money from the lawsuit would go to the lawyer. Additionally, any murder of Freedmen would result in their incarceration and the loss of their land that would then be distributed to the Freedmen.
Who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments?
We decided that Confederate leaders won’t be able to vote for five years and holding office is not permitted, so that we can lessen the amount of racism in government as well as punish the rebellious leaders. Ex-soldiers can vote and run for office since we want the South to have some vote.
What requirements must be met before states regain full rights and representation?
We took Lincoln's 10% plan and decided to increase the percentage of people taking the oath of allegiance and pledging to emancipation to 15% to 20% in order to ensure that a greater amount of state populations take the pledge. While this may make unification harder, we believe that it will decrease the abuse of Africans and increase the chance of an equal Union. We also decided to keep the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, because we want to achieve equality as quick as possible. Since women were outraged by not getting suffrage, therefore becoming less than African American (men), we want to give them a sort of incentive to staying with the Union, so we decided to add women's’ suffrage to the 14th Amendment. By adding women’s suffrage, we would be furthering the equality between men and women. We will have Union soldiers supervise the voting to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
How should the Southern economy be restored?
By building a transcontinental railroad through the west and south, and connecting the states, there will be better transportation to the great plains making it more accessible to the population giving them the option to move west, start plantations, and get money flowing into the economy. In these plantations and the plantations that survived in the south, cash crops like cotton, indigo, and rice will be planted. Although Sherman’s fires seem to have destroyed the south, the reality was that it renewed the soil and so therefore allowing for plantations to restart. More hospitals will also be created to take care of the sick and the war survivors. This will give women more jobs opportunities as nurses, therefore creating more gender equality, in addition to an economical boost. In addition we plan to raise taxes on all guns and ammunition. As a long term plan, we propose industiazing and rebuilding the south. This will make the south more equal with the north; releasing some tension between the two. Also, the purchase of Alaska will contribute natural resources to the US.
What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South? In the beginning, the Union troops should help the Freedmen register for voting so that they will be eligible to vote. We will not have any military districts because we don’t want it to seem like we are taking over the South, but we will have soldiers going after the KKK and putting them in jail for as long as necessary.
Re-state the primary goal of reconstruction. (Thesis re-stated)
The United States, in a condition of uncertainty and conflict must be focused on unity and reunification, in addition to civil liberties, and the safety of its citizens.
Prepare a response to an "opposition" group. In your response you will need to point out the flaws and weaknesses and/or the strengths of their plan. The day after we present, be sure to upload your response at the bottom of their page. You will also need to be ready to challenge their plan in class, as their group presents.
Response to Tylenol: You guys had some very unique ideas. The multiracial university is a good idea because it will employ subtle hints of anti-racism propaganda. However, we (along with Geib) aren’t sure that this school/series of schools will be possible in a sense that people will not want to send their kids to a completely new education system, unless you make it mandatory, but then that will probably make the citizens angrier. We agree with not having racial sensitivity classes because we too think that they won’t help. Also, the idea of planting hemp is creative however where will the mass amount of seeds come from? Also if the soil is burned and worn out, we think it will not be likely for a large amount of hemp to be grown in a short amount of time to satisfy a whole population. We do not agree with your legalization of recreational marijuana. Actually, we are not sure why you want to have recreational marijuana. We are not sure how this is related to the prompt “What requirements must be met before states regain full rights and representation?”. Daryl Davis happened much later in history therefore we don’t think that his occurrence would work out. We also read that you want to exile people, and while it would be nice to just get rid of people, we think that will stir up more anger, and resentment from the south towards the north further dividing the nation. Example: Clement L. Vallandigham who was banished then returned. We also disagree with executing the KKK members because that could make them angry, then go after us, and reunification would be thrown out the window. Also that would be kind of a punishment which we don’t think is a good idea (for unification). We disagree with shooting people on sight as that will cause fear, anger, and resentment.
It was not my plan to legalize recreational marijuana, only the use of industrial hemp. This entire section about hemp was also supposed to fall under the economy section, it was just misplaced. We would also like to point out that we never said "shooting people on sight", but rather that we would shoot "violent rioters/gangs" on sight, this is to protect the safety of the people. If they are being non-violent and peaceful, there is not need to shoot them, so they will not be shot. And, as you said yourself, the soil has been renewed and not "burned and worn out" as you have attacked us saying. -Tylenol
What is the primary goal of reconstruction? Reunification, punishment, civil rights, other? (Thesis)
The United States, in a condition of uncertainty and conflict must be focused on unity and reunification, in addition to civil liberties, and the safety of its citizens.
The Great Awakening Scheme
To unify the people of the United States of America and attempt to stem the atrocities of the KKK, Knights of the White Camelia, The White Brotherhood plus numerous other groups, in addition to large plantation owners re-enslaving African Americans, The Third Great Awakening will be utilized to bring back morality and compel people to re-evaluate their ethics. Preachers will return to the sacred teachings and state that the KKK have strayed from the original path and meaning. To advertise the Great Awakening and convince people of their duty, pamphlets (and other ways of communication/news) will be applied to demonstrate and exhibit the truth of the insurgent groups and the wealthy plantation owners. The flyer will depict the toils of the working families in the north and south, exemplifying the hardships experienced by the common man in the nation as a whole. Promoting the similarities north and south for the common man. While, portraying the rich plantation owners in the south and the increasing commercial power by few in the north as unacceptable; that will shift in focus and attention. To usurp and magnify awareness of the KKK and other rebel movements, the pamphlets are used to reveal the mass murder of United States Citizens -against the Constitution and intentions of our founding fathers- harm to women, children and the impoverished in the south. The powerful sentiment of these pamphlets in combination with urging vigorous, pious responsibility will be an effective method to propel the American people into action.
What should be done to the ex-Confederates?
The former confederate leaders should not be praised for their treasonous actions and misdeeds. The confederate commanders will have their voting right suspended for 5 years, such that they will not be able to vote in the coming election. The former confederate leaders (president, vice president and military commanders) will, from here forward, not authorized to run for office under the union. The soldiers that served in the southern army will be pardoned from charges and will regain their full rights and suffrage. Moreover, the citizen will equally be reprieved of charges of treason and reclaim full civil liberties. A veterans program will be initialed with the limited funds and will continue to progress as the economy improves.
What should be done for the freedmen?
Women
In order to gain more support for the Freedmen’s Bureau, it is imperative to give women the right to vote in the 14th Amendment. We believe that adding female suffrage to the 14th Amendment would show the southern states that their women are still considered higher than the Freedmen. With female suffrage, women would feel empowered to get jobs and begin to pump money into the economy. Northern women can move down south to get jobs as teachers and nurses. Additionally, with women’s support, the Freedmen would have more of a backing. Many women believed that they had been betrayed by the Freedmen when they were denied the right to vote in the 15th Amendment. If they had been granted this right, they would have felt compelled to support the Freedmen’s cause. Essentially they would be allies in the fight for equality and eventually this minority could become a majority. Strength in numbers.
The Third Great Awakening and Propaganda
The Ku Klux Klan was a large group of white supremacists determined to harass the Freedmen and anyone that supported them. They did this believing that this was the morally correct thing to do and they believed they had God on their side. In order to crack down on the Ku Klux Klan, we propose to create a Third Great Awakening that reminds the country what religion is actually about. The First Great Awakening was made possible by powerful, influential orators such as George Whitefield. Whitefield traveled around to different colonies and preached to groups of people. This is a similar approach that we would take. Priests would travel around through the southern states and preach. The key for the Third Great Awakening would be molding their religious beliefs into ones that would support the Freedmen. They would condemn the KKK for their immoral acts that contradict those that Christianity asserts. Priests similar to Jonathan Edwards would condemn those who follow the KKK or act similar to them to hell and compare them to people dangling over the pits of hell. People would then see their violent acts as acts of terrorism and would not want to associate with them because of their fear of being sent to hell. Additionally, this may spark outrage with some pious Northerners who will now want to fight against the KKK because of their acts against God.
Some additional ways to take down the KKK would be to send out propaganda in newspapers and to create pamphlets. These forms of propaganda would depict the KKK ravaging and murdering young, working women in the South. This would not be a lie since the northern women heading into the South were often harassed for supporting the Freedmen. The Additionally, the pamphlets and newspapers would emphasize how the KKK’s acts are unconstitutional and are against God’s wishes. This can start being taught in Northern schools as well and slowly trickle into the Southern education system. The way to combat the KKK is not to resort to violence but instead educate a population of ignorant, fearful people.
Freedmen’s Bureau and Other Accommodations
In order for the Freedmen to be able to survive, they must be provided with basic necessities such as clothes, food, education, jobs, and housing. In the wake of the destruction of the South, it will be difficult to provide these things but the United States has a duty to aide the Freedmen because they whole economy was built upon their backs. So, the Freedmen’s Bureau will be prolonged until the Freedmen are self sufficient.
With jobs, we would institute a national minimum wage for all workers of the United States including the Freedmen. The infamous Black Codes made the Freedmen become a subservient labor force under white control. These can be avoided by having the Freedmen’s Bureau also act as a sort of workers union. This worker’s union would enforce the minimum wages of the Freedmen and ensure that they have decent working conditions. If not, the Freedmen can report it to northern lawyers who will then go to court with the employer. They would be taken up north into northern courts where, if they won, half the money from the lawsuit would go to the lawyer. Additionally, any murder of Freedmen would result in their incarceration and the loss of their land that would then be distributed to the Freedmen.
Who should be able to vote and hold office in the new Southern state governments?
We decided that Confederate leaders won’t be able to vote for five years and holding office is not permitted, so that we can lessen the amount of racism in government as well as punish the rebellious leaders. Ex-soldiers can vote and run for office since we want the South to have some vote.
What requirements must be met before states regain full rights and representation?
We took Lincoln's 10% plan and decided to increase the percentage of people taking the oath of allegiance and pledging to emancipation to 15% to 20% in order to ensure that a greater amount of state populations take the pledge. While this may make unification harder, we believe that it will decrease the abuse of Africans and increase the chance of an equal Union. We also decided to keep the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, because we want to achieve equality as quick as possible. Since women were outraged by not getting suffrage, therefore becoming less than African American (men), we want to give them a sort of incentive to staying with the Union, so we decided to add women's’ suffrage to the 14th Amendment. By adding women’s suffrage, we would be furthering the equality between men and women. We will have Union soldiers supervise the voting to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
How should the Southern economy be restored?
By building a transcontinental railroad through the west and south, and connecting the states, there will be better transportation to the great plains making it more accessible to the population giving them the option to move west, start plantations, and get money flowing into the economy. In these plantations and the plantations that survived in the south, cash crops like cotton, indigo, and rice will be planted. Although Sherman’s fires seem to have destroyed the south, the reality was that it renewed the soil and so therefore allowing for plantations to restart. More hospitals will also be created to take care of the sick and the war survivors. This will give women more jobs opportunities as nurses, therefore creating more gender equality, in addition to an economical boost. In addition we plan to raise taxes on all guns and ammunition. As a long term plan, we propose industiazing and rebuilding the south. This will make the south more equal with the north; releasing some tension between the two. Also, the purchase of Alaska will contribute natural resources to the US.
What role should Union troops play in policing, governing, or rebuilding the South?
In the beginning, the Union troops should help the Freedmen register for voting so that they will be eligible to vote. We will not have any military districts because we don’t want it to seem like we are taking over the South, but we will have soldiers going after the KKK and putting them in jail for as long as necessary.
Re-state the primary goal of reconstruction. (Thesis re-stated)
The United States, in a condition of uncertainty and conflict must be focused on unity and reunification, in addition to civil liberties, and the safety of its citizens.
Prepare a response to an "opposition" group. In your response you will need to point out the flaws and weaknesses and/or the strengths of their plan. The day after we present, be sure to upload your response at the bottom of their page. You will also need to be ready to challenge their plan in class, as their group presents.
Response to Tylenol:
You guys had some very unique ideas. The multiracial university is a good idea because it will employ subtle hints of anti-racism propaganda. However, we (along with Geib) aren’t sure that this school/series of schools will be possible in a sense that people will not want to send their kids to a completely new education system, unless you make it mandatory, but then that will probably make the citizens angrier. We agree with not having racial sensitivity classes because we too think that they won’t help. Also, the idea of planting hemp is creative however where will the mass amount of seeds come from? Also if the soil is burned and worn out, we think it will not be likely for a large amount of hemp to be grown in a short amount of time to satisfy a whole population. We do not agree with your legalization of recreational marijuana. Actually, we are not sure why you want to have recreational marijuana. We are not sure how this is related to the prompt “What requirements must be met before states regain full rights and representation?”. Daryl Davis happened much later in history therefore we don’t think that his occurrence would work out. We also read that you want to exile people, and while it would be nice to just get rid of people, we think that will stir up more anger, and resentment from the south towards the north further dividing the nation. Example: Clement L. Vallandigham who was banished then returned. We also disagree with executing the KKK members because that could make them angry, then go after us, and reunification would be thrown out the window. Also that would be kind of a punishment which we don’t think is a good idea (for unification). We disagree with shooting people on sight as that will cause fear, anger, and resentment.
It was not my plan to legalize recreational marijuana, only the use of industrial hemp. This entire section about hemp was also supposed to fall under the economy section, it was just misplaced. We would also like to point out that we never said "shooting people on sight", but rather that we would shoot "violent rioters/gangs" on sight, this is to protect the safety of the people. If they are being non-violent and peaceful, there is not need to shoot them, so they will not be shot. And, as you said yourself, the soil has been renewed and not "burned and worn out" as you have attacked us saying. -Tylenol